Merry go round

Every last friday of the month, I jump on the 'Merry go round'. What is the Merry go round exactly? Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question/challenge.It's that time of the month again and this month's question is 'Do you do fairs/shows? If so, share some hints and your experience. If not - why not.'

Yes, I do fairs but not on a frequent basis though. When I first started out with fairs, I really loved it and couldn't get enough of it but after a few, I kind of changed my mind. It takes quite a lot of preparation and the clearing away afterwards is just dreadful. Just wrapping up all my feelings takes a long time, let alone unwrapping and clearing 'em away which usually takes longer. So I'm very picky on the fairs that I do and sometimes I even visit a fair beforehand to get a general impression and see if it would attract the right audience for my work.
It's a great promotional tool though and the best part about fairs is meeting people from my creative community. Be it customers, blogreaders or other makers/artists, I just love to interact with them. And it's also a great opportunity to get feedback on your work.

I did prepare quite well for my first fair and made a little 'how to' for those interested.

I have a fair in 2 weeks time and my studio is a big mess right now. Besides that, I'm working a lot too & it's not good for my stress levels. Obviously I have not been preparing enough during summer which results in frantically running around like a headless chicken right now.
The kiln will be doing overtime & that also means that I'll be doing overtime. I plan to make up for that afterwards though. :)

Want to know if the other Merriers have tips for you on fairs/craft shows? Hop over to their blogs. Please bear in mind that the members will be posting at different times of the day, depending on which world time-zone they are in :)

Laura at Blue Terracotta
Monika at Red2White
Ruth at Birdland Creations
Kim at Vilt a la Kim
Sara at Crafts of Texture
Samantha at Vintage is for lovers
Mariana at Florcita
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Jen at Painted Fish Studio
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles

Stiel en Stijl

image by Elza D.

It's only a month away and it's going to be magnificent.
Still have lots of work to do.
Lots.
But I'll take it as it comes as I know I can't execute all the things that are in my head so I'll be there with what's done. And I'll bring Anna from AnnaRubyKing/LilaRubyKing along to share a table with, so that's a double reason to mark your calenders right now.
We'd love you to come say 'hello' to us, so see you there? :)

PS: Can you spot my puppy in the tree?

Evanement

First of all, this is the only picture that came out right, the few that were taken at the fair were too dark and blurry.
Just because I'm such a good photographer... *sigh*
So nothing much to show you of the fair itself I'm afraid. It was a small fair only with about 20 stands and lots of them gave information about their organisation so there were only a few stands that sold stuff.
It was inside and there were lots of activities happening in the whole building so people came to the fair on and off. This combination is great if people come for both events: the workshops and the fair. I had the feeling that lots of people came for the workshops and strolled around at the fair to pass the time for the next workshop. So it was definately not a craft fair that focussed only on handmade goods but it was great to show what I am made off and with 99 feelings to show, that was quite a lot. I loved seeing the expression of people's faces when I start to name the feelings while I explain what the project is about.
I was so happy to meet some customers, fellow Etsians and blogreaders and only that made it already worthwile for me being there.Annemiek from TwoTreesBelgium sells lovely ceramics and jewellery and it was lovely chatting to another ceramist and share some knowledge.Also Julia from TheSpottedSparrow showed up at the fair. She's such a sunshine and sells eco friendly, vintage inspired paper goods.
Make sure to check out their shops as they both do great work!

One of my blogreaders, Nynke of TheLifeOfAPurpleRabbit, surprised me with a visit and she made me this beautiful scarf. She made it in my favorite color: green. That gave me goosebumps and I think that unexpected gifts like these are the best! I'll wear it with pride, Nynke! Thank you so much!And Cecilie, originally from Denmark but now living in Bonn was my first customer on the fair. She's a fan of my work obviously and I suspect that she knows all the mini-art-feelings by name too. How cute is that? After the contact I've had with her (and her husband who purchased some of my work as gifts) via Etsy, it was supernice to meet both of them in real life. Thank you too for stopping by.

I did take my ripple blanket along and I did hope to chat a bit more with Mariana from Florcita and with Kim from Viltalakim, but it was too busy for that, which is a good thing I suppose... :)

Happy monday

I love it when the postman rings our doorbell 'cause that usually means he's got a package for me. And jip, I was right, the delivery of the collaboration jewellery that Anna send me so that I can take it to the fair with me. Yay! It is actually the first time that I see the finished pieces in real life, except the loop necklace, so I was superexcited to open up the package.
And it was all so nicely packaged with beautiful pouches and business cards.
And three pieces of Baklava, if my fair buddies are lucky (read: if I haven't eaten them), I'll share them on Sunday.
Now I can't wait to find a nice way to display it all... to be continued.

Evanement - international women's day

In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. It wasn't until International Women's Year in 1975, that the 'International Women's Day' was given official recognition by the United Nations and was taken up by many governments.
So, 8th of March, women will come together to celebrate solidarity, equal rights and freedom.
The city I live in organises an event the day before called 'Evanement' with a market where women's organisations are presented, workshops are being held and where lots of female artists get a chance to present their work.
I'm one of those artists and it's in exactly 2 weeks on the 7th of March. Eeeks, I still have lots to do in preparation so I might be a bit absent on the blog in the coming 2 weeks.

Apart from the market, a few of the activities that you can do there are:

• Tango for starters: fun to try out if you never have before.
• vestiare populaire gives you the opportunity to dive into a dressing room with more then 600 outfits which you can fit on and then be photographed in a studio
• 'de koekjesfee' or the cupcake-fairy is there to make and bake fabulous cookies and cakes
  (kids older then 4 and accompagnied by an adult)
  
• Chocolate, bittersweet a workshop from Fair Trade about the production process of chocolate and in insight in the cacao market.
• A 'how to raise my child' game to get an insight on how other parents look upon issues with their children. Fun and humor garantueed.
  
• An exhibition about breast cancer and how to prevent it
• A workshop with Michaël Verheyden about handbags & fashion accesoiries
• Iris Mondelaers who is a jewellery designer will show how an item is born from start to finish.

For some of these activities, you can sign up before hand but only on the day itself at the info desk of the event from 12u. The info desk is located in the hallway of the Cultural center.

In the fashion museum there is a workshop organised by Knitting guru Stephane Martello.
If you want to take part in the workshop, you will have to sign up. The cost is 10 euro's which includes a visit to the Fashion museum. You can get more info here: modemuseum@hasselt.be



And last but not least, in the evening, Axelle Red will give a show in the cultural center.
She's a Belgian artist that is well know internationally too. She's actually from this city but now lives in Paris. If you want to hear what kind of music she brings, go here.
Tickets for this (15euro) also have to be bought upfront. You can do that via e-mail: plaatsbespreking@ccha.be




If you plan to visit and need more info, feel free to contact me: mitsy@artmind.eu

Hoera, hip handwerk!

Yesterday it was open monuments day in Belgium. This means that lots of museums an monuments are open to the public. The city I live in has a fashion museum and runs great exhibitions. The exhibition this time is called 'in her shoes' and the amount of shoes they host can compete with Imelda Marcos' collection I think.


In the main hall of the museum Kristien & Kim organised this cozy fair called 'Hoera, Hip Handwerk' (Hurry, Hip Handmade).
For people who came to visit the museum, it was a nice surprise to see all the colorful creations in the main hall & enjoy the lovely atmosphere. What a beautiful location to have a fair.
Since the hall couldn't host many stands, there were not so many participants.
Want to walk around the fair with me? (I forgot to take a few business cards of some participants so I'll add links to their websites later on)

www.lovelymariquita.be
handmade fluffy accesoiries and other wonderland goodies
busy making new creations...

Soft and squishy plusies either crocheted, knitted or sewn

Warda Mariën - Taylormade jewelry
Beautiful unique creations with fantastic handmade glass beads.
DinaFragola aka Nathalie Laurent would LOVE her work as it involved handblown cat beads.
Did you know that Dina still needs more votes for the Croc contest?
Just one mouseclick - so easy & you would make her very happy! Thank you!

Angelsandsailors
Lovely paintings & prints

Whoost!
Amazing colorful kids creations

Titi + the German Kid & Polly Rocket
these two girls organised this event
Titi + the German Kid has designed her own collection of clothes and accesoiries Polly Rocket has cute & colorful crocheted creations

Gorgeous leather handbag creations

Petiet
Fun bags of retro fabrics

MrLapin

Mr Lapin est un vraiment copin.
Il aime son chien Luchien et les oiseaux dans le jardin.

Something strange & The button Brigade

Something strange

Amazing retro dresses, super felt and crocheted goodies & amazing leather handbags.

The button brigade
Angela makes absolutely wonderful kids clothing & accesoiries

TY

handmade jewelry, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and birthstone charmsArtMind
Ceramics & greeting cards

Here are some of the new products you can expect in my shop soon...Hope you enjoyed your visit to the fair! :)

I was too tired to draw a winner of my give-away yesterday evening but I did it first thing in the morning... Congrats Evelyn of Sumikoshop! I'll be sending out the gift tags soon! :)

More art fair news...

Yesterday I went to the Kunstmarkt in Sittard, Netherlands. It was a beautiful day outside and I really looked forward to meet people face to face & talk with them.
My friend Esther was excited to come with me and help me out. We had a lovely day setting up the stall, talking with people about the '99-feelings'-project, enjoying a ray of sunshine, chatting in between and vegging out on the couch in front of a movie in the evening.
I must say: Esther is just a real professional - she got instant promotion! LOL
It was not as busy at the fair but we had some lovely chats with people who were really interested in my work.
The most remarkable thing I found was that kids were so taken by all the feelings trying to guess which feeling was which. At one point, I heard a 9-year old girl say to her mom 'look mom, that's feeling empty' while pointing to the feeling empty. No need to say that I loved that! :)
Since it was not so busy, I had a chance to walk around and capture some impressions...

Me sanding a few piggy banks...

My friend Esther.

I loved this bird cage of my neighbor's stall. She made beautiful illustrations and I hope to see her on Etsy soon! :) Too bad I forgot to take pictures of her illustration work.

I love it when people show their processes to the public.
She made beautiful felt creations.

Here is one of them...

These girls were very eager to pimp your clothes.
Only I didn't bring a spare set!

I loved them demonstrating & to see all the ribbon, charms, paints,... they use to do the pimping.

I'm always happy when I see a little area where kiddies can art their heart out...

This creation was bare wood at the beginning of the fair & it was completely pimped by the end of the day. Fun!

This guy sat right behind us so we could see the spray process clearly.
He must have a very visual memory to make the lion look so real.

I had a terrific day yesterday & I'm looking forward to my next fair in the Modemuseum (the fashion museum) in my hometown on the 13th of September.

More fairs

Last sunday I got a request if I would be able to attend an artfair in Sittard. It was a bit short notice but since I have a lot of stock now I decided to go.
During the weekend, lots of festivities will be happening in and around the city.
If you are around or near Sittard, Netherlands, here is a link with a bit more information.

Apart from that, I have another fair on the 13th of September which is 'open monuments day'.
It is a day that lots of monuments and musea have open doors so they are easy accesible for everyone. During this day, the Modemuseum Hasselt will host a fair of handmade goodies.
Feel free to come and say hello if you are in the neighborhood! :)

Craftparking was FANTASTIC!

I have been wishing for a long time to write a title like that and I'm so glad I can do that now! Time to finally show off all the hard work from the last few weeks! The location was way out of the city in an old factory and at first I thought 'not many people will make the journey to visit' but boy was I wrong! In the old factory, lots of cultural happenings were taking place for the summerfestival and it was happy busy.
The girls who organised this, Moon & Jasmijn, just have been wonderful. Apparently prior to the fair, they walked their feet off to distribute flyers and made promotion like hell!
It was supposed to start at 1pm but at 12am people were already starting to come in & it didn't stop until very late on the day. Really busy & an amazing atmosphere.

As you all know, lots of European Streetteam friends from Etsy were going to be on the fair. And that really was the most amazing thing for me: meet everyone and realise that I 'knew' them even though we never met before! It's hard to explain how virtual friendships can be so close. Wow, such a nice feeling!
Since I didn't have much time to visit the stands, I asked my friend Veerle who came with me to help me out on the stand, to go around and take some pictures for me.
Come talk a walk around the fair & meet my friends...

Maria & her husband Jim from LeelaBijoux

Vanessa (pet buyer on Etsy & Kerrin's friend), Kerrin from Sigmosaics and Nicole from Babongo & Babongohome.

Veerle from NevousinstallezpasKarla from Karlita

Ahum, Nathalie from Dinafragola is shopping obviously... ;)

Myrte from Mirthquake

Maartje from Mamutopia

Ina from DeerLola

Kim from Viltalakim

Petronella from Kraplap
(sorry, unfortunately no picture of Peggy, the little cute dog)

Greet from Fleurfatale

Mitsy from ArtMind
(I got that brooch from one of my blogreaders - supercute and nice - thank you purplerabbit)

Personally, it was the first time ever that I showed my work to the public and it was very exciting and fun to talk and explain the '99-feelings' project.
People were very much taken by it and it felt good to get this token of appreciation! Wow, still blushing here! ;)
Here you can see how my stand looked in the end... I didn't paint the wooden boxes but I hung the wall art on them. Looked nice I think! :)

Nicole from Babongo & Mitsy from ArtMind

In the evening we went to the restaurant together.

Ready for dinner, chatting and relaxing...

It was then that we gave Kerrin's goodbye gift. If you have not read the post about the secret suitcase, than you probably don't know what this is about so go and read it first! ;)

Kim's beautiful girls, Janna & Meg with the secret suitcase and bag because it didn't all fit in...

Of course I messed up while explaining what was happening because I said it all in Dutch and then I looked at Kerrin and she looked like she didn't understand a word... and of course she didn't understand a word...

Laughing because I was explaining in Dutch instead of English

Being supersurprised when I translated...

And even more surprised when she opened the suitcase...
Oops, wiping a tear from emotion... but that's perfectly OK, I was wiping too! ;)

Not only a suitcase full of gifts, but also a suitcase full of emotions. The unexpected gift made Kerrin speechless, grateful and amazed and... she'll tell you about it when she gets back to Portugal, I'm sure of that!

At our home while sitting at the kitchen table opening the gifts - how fun!!!
Thank you dear Euro friends for participating in this fabulous secret gift giving. You are all extremely wonderful and sweet! :)

So, all in all it was unforgettable! It was an experience that will be cherished and when we said goodbye we all said: 'see you on the thread' of course! :) ('the thread' is our chatting thread on the Etsy forum)

Sorry this has been such a long post but I just wanted to share our experience a little bit 'cause I know how curious you all are! ;)